Numerous scientists and experts around the world have expressed their concern at the low media reportage on issues of climate change. Another concern is that media discussions on the subject matter lack accurate information or are too technical for the public.

To change the situation, private companies and government agencies in the Philippines, as well as international non-government organizations, will hold seminar-workshops to help journalists craft better and more science-based stories about the matter.

With funding from the Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC), Smart Communications and Philex Mining Corporation, the Philippine Agricultural Journalists, Inc. (PAJ), in collaboration with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security in Southeast Asia (CCAFS-SEA), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and Department of Agriculture will conduct four regional seminar-workshops for journalists, dubbed Climate Change: Gets mo na ba? (Do you get it now?)

A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by PAJ and the MPIC Group on 30 June 2015 for the project’s implementation. The workshops aim to make climate change processes and terminologies more understandable for the layman. The series of activities will be held in Legazpi City (30 July-1 August), Tacloban City (27-29 August), Siargao Island (17-19 September), and Tuguegarao City (29-31 October).

The media seminar-workshop series is part of the CCAFS-SEA’s collective engagement and communication strategy and plan in the region which was mapped out with CGIAR Centers. The plan serves as a collective platform to build synergistic relationships among CGIAR Centers and key stakeholders, including the media.

Led by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), CCAFS is a collaboration among all 15 CGIAR research centers and coordinates with the other CGIAR research programs. IRRI hosts the regional program for Southeast Asia, which is based in Vietnam.